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1st United Imperial Crownlands of Hulstria and Gao-Soto
The United Imperial Crownlands of Hulstria and Gao-Soto (Hulstrian: Die Vereinte Kaiserlichen Kronenländer Hulsterreichs und Gao-Sotos; Kunikata: ホルソトラリア＝御國帝冠領 Horusotoraria=Mikuni Tei Kanryou) was a nation on the northwestern coast of Dovani, controlling the territories of today's Hulstria and Gao-Soto and Ostland. It was overthrown by the Great Reich of Mikuni-Hulstria, after the House of Yukio-Labsburg usurped the thrones of both Hulstria and Gao-Soto and thus united them. Hulstria and Gao-Soto was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Empire of Hulstria and the Empire of Gao-Soto, with each Empire maintaining its separate monarch in a ceremonial capacity. The two constituent Empires in pre-Septembrist Hulstria and Gao-Soto each had their own parliaments, cabinets, and prime-ministers, but after the September Revolution of 3416, which restored the dual monarchy after the overthrow of a 5-year totalitarian regime run by the Imperial Socialist Party, constitutional reformer Thomas Michels led the way for abolition of the sovereignty of the component Empires and retained them as ceremonial and cultural entities within a single sovereign state. The United Imperial Crownlands were united under the rule of an elected Head of State called the Governor-General of Hulstria and Gao-Soto which represented the two monarchs in political affairs; this system madce the Crownlander government very unique in its structure and one of the few constitutional monarchies on Terra to have such a system. The Staatsminister / Kokumudaizin was the Head of the Crowlander Government and headed the Ministerial Council (the joint cabinet of the Crownlands). The Parliament or Reichsversammlung exercised the legislative power. Due to the influence of Thomas Michels and others from the 15th of September Movement, Septembrism and its associated values of pluralism, democracy, moderate politics and respect for human dignity were often ascribed the status of a "founding myth" or national ideology for the United Imperial Crownlands. History Imperial Crownlands of Hulstria and Gao-Soto With the rise of Gao-Showa nationalism in the 34th century, manifested in the Mingzhi Dynasty in Indrala and the Southern Hemisphere War, and the Okatori regime in Sekowo, the Kunihito in Hulstria began to voice their own nationalist demands. The elections of 3385 brought a supermajority to a coalition of Gao-Showa nationalist parties, which also received much support from the Hulstrian middle and working classes. Consequently, Greater Hulstria was transformed into the Imperial Crownlands of Hulstria and Gao-Soto in February 3386, with the crowning of Klaus Gustav VI as Mikado Klaus Gustav I of Gao-Soto. In April 3388, Gao-Soto was restored as a sovereign entity on the territory of Mitrania, Hilgar, and Ostland. Following a brief constitutional crisis, the crowns of the two empires were separated in 3393, with the crowning of Okatori Takahiro, the former Mikado of Sekowo, as the new Emperor of Gao-Soto. National Bolshevist period (3411-3416) With the total collapse of the country's political system, the National Bolshevists revealed themselves to be a Zen Socialist Fascist party working to subvert Hulstria and Gao-Soto into a totalitarian state geared towards spiritual enlightenment under its ideological force of the Dialectic. The monarchy and its constitutional and democratic institutions were abolished, and a new mandatory state religion of the Dialectic was imposed upon the people. Protesting this, on the 15th of September, groups of civil society representatives and concerned citizens, on the instigation of the Selucian Patriarchal Cardinal Medgar Haas and his Luthoran colleague, Archbishop Ludwig Wilhelms of Kien, joined by trade union leaders and other ciivl society leaders, marched through the streets of Kien, intending to get through to the Imperial Diet. The regime set their tanks on them, inflicting a bloodbath. This provoked international outrage, especially among the Hosian Churches, with prominent faith leaders across the world condemning the move towards religious persecution of the Hosian majority in Hulstria and Gao-Soto, and , sometimes called "Kurosawa the Great", joined forces with the Septembrists and became a popular, moderate and respected monarch.]]leaders in the Holy Luthori Empire and Rutania openly discussing intervention in Hulstria. Internally, this led to the re-establishment of the Hosianisch-Demokratisches Verbund within a peaceful coalition of democratic opposition forces named for the march: the 15. September Bewegung. While Hosianism remained legal, massive prayer vigils were held at churches across the nation in protest, with believers threatening to keep worshipping underground. The leadership of the 15th September Movement disappeared underground, publishing the uncensored news and its messages of hope to citizens through their underground newspaper, Die Stimme. ''International support for the movement kept growing, with several nations including Luthori, Dranland and Rutania speaking out against the regime and its human rights abuses. In December 3412, the movement received another boost as Gao-Showan Crown Prince Okatori Kurosawa escaped his captivity at the hands of the dictatorship and joined the opposition. , National Chairman of the 15th of September Movement and first Governor-General of the United Imperial Crownlands.]]In 3416, Septembrist candidates across Hulstria and Gao-Soto were elected but refused to take their seats. The regime collapsed first in the Crownland of Hilgar, where in the Gao-Showan Imperial Capital of Miyako, Okatori Kurosawa and Thomas Michels declared the formation of a provisional government that was rapidly recognised by the lion's share of the international community. Shortly after, the Crownland of Hulstria was liberated, and the Provisional Imperial Diet moved to Kien, where it formally declared the United Imperial Crownlands of Hulstria and Gao-Soto. United Imperial Crownlands of Hulstria and Gao-Soto The new United Imperial Crownlands, also referred to occasionally as post-Septembrist Hulstria and Gao-Soto to distinguish it from the pre-Septembrist years of the Imperial Crownlands, was governed for a few more years by the united forces of the Septembrists, until the Movement dissolved in 3424, ceasing to exist as a single body, and its constituent grouformed into parties. The Anarchists also organised in the Vereinigte Bund. Up until 3440, the [[Hosianisch-Demokratisches Verbund] maintained a plurality in the Imperial Diet, although the Imperial Diet as a whole was a much more socially-liberal body than its largest party, and Hulstria and Gao-Soto have seen many liberalisations of the ethical and moral laws. In 3440 the HDV lost plurality status for the first time since the dissolution of the Septembrist Movement, and the left-wing coalition of SDAP and VB took office. In 3446, the HDV-AF centre-right coalition was once more returned to office. Politics in the Crownlands became more competitive in the 36th century, after centuries of sedate ''"caretaker rule" ''by the HDV in office under successive Staatsministers. At first, the competition retained a moderate and Septembrist character, and the dominance of the HDV as a natural party of government remained after the foundation of the social democratic Hulstrianisch-Sozialistischen Partei and the liberal Liberale Volkspartei. The foundation of the Internationale Kommunistische Partei and various more extreme parties, however, threatened the Septembrist consensus. Soon, the so-called "moderate coalition" of HDV, HSP and LVP lost its majority and the HDV lost its plurality first to the HSP and then to the IKP. The only way that moderate governments was saved was when the national conservative Partei Rechtsstaatlicher was brought into the coalition and converted slowly but surely to open Septembrism. This configuration, called ''"moderate-plus", ''governed the Crownlands first under Staatsminister Maeko Yanagimoto (HSP) and then under the HDV's Matiasu Fukuyama. When the extreme parties made huge gains in the 3601 elections, 15 years before the 200th anniversary of the September Revolution, the Septembrist consensus seemed threatened. As the PRS collapsed, the HSP saw no other option but to support a far-left government led by Sascha Meinhof of the Communist Party, which promptly proceeded to pursue a radical left-wing agenda. In response, former Governor-General Johannes Goddestreu renewed the 15th of September Movement, joining LVP and HDV prepares to filibuster the Länderrat to prevent the passage of a paramilitaries bill.]] temporarily in order to prevent the establishment of a dictatorship. Protests were heavy, especially against the legalisation of paramilitaries by the government, which was the subject of a notorious filibuster in the Länderrat by Mitrania Minister-President Rorensu Tamaki and Hilgar Minister of Justice Obe Arinaga. This filibuster, which delayed the law considerably, became known as the Vispobstruktion (Visp Filibuster) because Tamaki famously read the entire libretto (including repetitions) of the famous St. Theodore Exilium by Hulstrian baroque composer Johann Emmanuel Visp. , the first reigning female monarch of modern Hulstria and first Empress Regnant since Henrietta I]] As Meinhof called early elections in 3606, her strategy backfired and the Septembrists, including the HSP, won the elections, leading to the collapse of the far-left coalition and most radical parties amidst popular backlash. The Septembrist Movement was then dissolved again, and new elections were held later that year, leaving only the three moderate parties in Parliament. During this time period, the Diet made important reforms to the monarchy, caused in part by the accession of Empress Josephine I to the Hulstrian throne after her father, Emperor Otto, died without male heirs and named her heir in his will. These reforms changed the procedure for , Gao-Soto's longest-reigning modern Emperor]] establishing succession to both thrones to absolute primogeniture, allowing the eldest child of the reigning monarch, regardless of gender, to succeed to the throne. In Gao-Soto this period saw the over 60-year long reign of Emperor Akihiko, the longest-reigning Okatori Emperor of Gao-Soto, in whose lifetime the Phoenix Throne and the Crownlands both fell out with Indrala over the mandate of heaven and restored relations. Politically, after a short stint in which Emilia Lahnsteiger managed to do what Herbert Griesmeyer had failed to do and become the first Liberal Staatsminister of the post-Septembrist Crownlands, the HDV returned to dominance. Government & Politics Hulstria and Gao-Soto was a diarchy and dual monarchy,with both Emperors forming a joint Head of State referred to as "the Crowns", represented by a single elected ''de facto Head of State, the Governor-General and a common government. In the pre-Septembrist Imperial Crownlands, distinct governments for the two halves of the empire existed, headed by two monarchical Heads of State, the Emperor of Hulstria and the Emperor of Gao-Soto, but the Empire governments were afterwards made wholly ceremonial as the Imperial Courts of Hulstria and Gao-Soto, which also acted as an upper house of Parliament. Instead, the Emperors of Hulstria and Gao-Soto each functioned as the sole ceremonial head of state for the Crownlands within their jurisdiction. Thus, government in Hulstria and Gao-Soto had three levels: the national government, the Crownland government and the local government. The role of the Crowns was largely ceremonial in all respects. The Emperor of Hulstria (Hulstrian: Kaiser) was the hereditary and imperial Head of State of the Empire of Hulstria, who possessed ceremonial and other executive powers. The Emperor of Gao-Soto (Kunikata: Mikado) was the is the hereditary and imperial Head of State of the Empire of Gao-Soto, and also possesses ceremonial and executive powers. The Emperor of Gao-Soto revived the ancient Gao-Soton traditions, reigning as the centre of the country, both as the worshiped centre of national patriotism, and as the centre of the network of political marriage between all noble houses. Because of that, the Emperor was the manifestation of the Empire, both for the commoners and the nobles. Both Emperors were required under the Crowns Bill to swear upon their coronation an oath to defend the interests of the entire people of the Crownlands. The joint government was headed by the Governor-General of Hulstria and Gao-Soto, who was the elected Head of State of the joint government and acted as the representative of the two monarchies in political affairs, making the role a ceremonial one largely reserved for elder statesmen. The Staatsminister or Kokumudaizin was the Head of Their Imperial Majesties' Government of Hulstria and Gao-Soto, the Government of the Crownlands; the Staatsminister chaired the cabinet and could call emergency cabinet sessions or call for a new cabinet in time of crisis, among other powers. In practice, the role of the Staatsminister was reversed with that of the Governor-General in terms of the influence and holders of the two offices since the time of Greater Hulstria, greatly increasing its influence until it functioned as head of the government proper, rather than its ceremonial role in the Greater Hulstria era. All offices held their own unique powers within the nation. For example the two Emperors had the power to nominate a "Viceroy" for each of the Crownlands' colonies; in practice, this power was exercised by the Governor-General, the elected representative of the monarchs; such a nomination needed to be confirmed in the Imperial Diet. The nation was divided into two Empires for ceremonial purposes - sovereignty being fused at the national level -, each divided into three Crownlands headed by a Ministerpräsident (Kunikata: daizin-daitouryou) and governed by their own respective legislature, called "Landtags"/"Syuu Gikai", and own set of laws, but most power rested with the joint government. Elections for Chief Minister and Landtags were held every six years, concurrent with the national elections for Governor-General and for the Imperial Diet. Cities and towns had their own Mayors and local governments; the Emperors could appoint Imperial Mayors to act as a royal representative of the monarch in a town or city of their picking; each Crownland as well has a Crown Commissioner that was solely appointed by the Monarchy, but on the advice of the Landtag and the Crown Commissioner was the monarch's representative in, mainly, regional judicial affairs. The Imperial Diet and the Imperial Courts together formed the national legislature of the Imperial Crownlands of Hulstria and Gao-Soto. The Imperial Diet consisted of 750 representatives from across the country, elected by mixed-member proportional representation for a term of 6 years. The Imperial Diet was located in Kien and was presided over by the President of the Imperial Diet. Ministers were commonly members of the Imperial Diet. The Imperial Courts consisted of a mix of appointed and elected nobles and dignitaries from each Crownland, and had very limited powers vis à vis the Imperial Diet. Nevertheless, the Imperial Courts functioned as a house of sober second thought, charged with safeguarding the constitution and the cultural traditions of their Empires. If both Imperial Courts objected to legislation, it constituted a suspensive veto for the duration of 1 year. Political Parties Most of Hulstria and Gao-Soto's political parties had shared roots in the democratic opposition movement during the KSP regime, the 15th of September Movement, though the Hosianisch-Demokratisches Verbund was much older than that. The exception to this was the Vereinigte Bund, which sprung originally from the Anarchist opposition groups to the KSP regime. It was generally presumed that there were two multi-party pre-election coalitions contesting elections in Hulstria and Gao-Soto: a centre-right coalition of Hosianisch-Demokratisches Verbund and Liberale Volkspartei and a centre-left coalition of Hulstrianisch-Sozialistische Partei and Die Sozialliberalen. Foreign Policy Hulstria and Gao-Soto, like its predecessor Greater Hulstria, was considered by many to be one of the major regional powers on the continent of Dovani, and by some as a world power. Its foreign policy was currently designed to balance the demands of maintaining its status as a regional power and its sphere of influence in Northern Dovani and encouraging liberal democracy, constitutional government and moderate politics worldwide as a part of its commitment to Septembrism. Special attention was also paid to encouraging harmonious coexistence between the Gao-Showa peoples of Dovani and other groups. In the 36th century, the demands of its status as a regional power and its insistence on the position of the Emperor of Gao-Soto as a moral and cultural leader of the Gao-Showa brought the nation increasingly in conflict with the Empire of Indrala, which had been expanding its sphere of influence in South Dovani. Administrative Divisions Hulstria and Gao-Soto was a Dual Constitutional Monarchy divided into two ceremonial Empires, each divided into three Crownlands and the Eastern Territories, with the six crownlands divided into 79 districts known as Kreise in Hulstrian and Dou in Kunikata. The six Crownlands are Budenlar, Hulstria, Mitrania, Hilgar, Kuratha, and Ostland; each had their own elected government and unique culture. The Crownlands were governed by elected Landtags /Syuu Gikai who made up their legislatures and Chief Ministers who head the regional government and supervised by Crown Commissioners appointed by the Monarchs; Crown Commissioners also acted as a judicial supervisor over the Crownland's judicial system as well. The four colonies, which were granted self-government in 3394, disbanding the Eastern Territories, were led by Viceroys, appointed by the Governor-General in the name of the monarch and had to be confirmed by the Imperial Diet. Each colony had its own elected legislative assembly, and could pass its own laws. The governance of the colonial empire was determined by the Colonial Affairs Act of 2694, and the Self Government Act of 3394. Crownlands Colonies Demographics Religion Stats on Religion of all nationals: * 78% Hosianism **63% Luthoranism **19% Amelioratism **10% Selucian Partiarchalism **8% Other *10% Kamism & Daenism *6% Atheism/Agnosticism *5% Yeudism *1% Other By Hulstria and Gao-Soton law the official religion was Luthoranism, however the Hulstrian population was free to worship as they wished and hold membership in whatever religion they liked. Ethnicity The population of Hulstria and Gao-Soto was largely divided into two groups. The Caucasian Hulstrians were the descendants of Luthori and other Artanian colonists to the nation, are largely Hosian/Luthoran, and lived mostly in the North and West of the country. The Gao-Showan Kunihito were considered the native population, although they also colonised the nation, roughly one millennium before the Hulstrians. They were mostly followers of the Kamist or Daenist religions and lived in the East and South. The division between these groups and the rival claims to ownership of the country has led often to rivalry and war between the two. Category:History of Dovani Category:Hulstria